Kiwi pacer Mills battling his demons and Tendulkar!

Napier, Mar. 24 (ANI): Indias batting machine has dented the confidence of New Zealands fast bowlers so much, that a majority of them have owned up to not possessing the required counter-attacking skills. One of them is New Zealands most experienced bowler, Kyle Mills. In the wake of a master class 42nd Test hundred by Indias Sachin Tendulkar (160) at Hamilton, Mills made little effort to mask his inadequacies as he reflected on the least-memorable episode of his 19-test career. Mills has sustained harsh treatment since India launched their tour, continuing in Hamilton with both bat and ball. A golden duck and then his dismissal on the last day of day three of the Test as a night watchman was bad enough but it was his swing bowling that proved the major disappointment. After relatively economical figures in the one-dayers at Hamilton and Auckland, the perils of overstepping emerged at Seddon Park. Mills would have dismissed Gautam Gambhir on the first ball of the second day had he not noballed — the second of five for the innings. He took one for 98 from 22 overs — the most expensive analysis from New Zealand’’s quartet of fast bowlers — in India’’s first innings and then delivered 2.2 overs for 21 as the tourists romped to a 10-wicket victory. Mills, a stand-out performer during the drawn Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series in Australia last month, acknowledged his indifferent form against the Indians was a concern. “It was pretty disappointing all round. I”m a big rhythm bowler, I really need my rhythm and it wasn”t there in that last test match. I was bowling two sides of the wicket which in international cricket is not good enough,” the NZPA quoted him, as saying. “I was thinking about that the whole way in on my run-up. I”m really trying to rectify that because you don”t really want to be worrying about that running into Sachin Tendulkar,” he added. (ANI)